Blog Picks Seven Top HEPA 13 Air Purifiers

Modine Teaming with Global Plasma Solutions on Ionization Technology

Benchmark Shield, to Produce Up to 10 Million Disposable ASTM-Rated Surgical Masks Per Month

Face Shields are very Likely Aerosol Generators

Advantages of More Efficient Filters Depend on Virus Load

COVID Death Toll in Asia Now Exceeds 100,000

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Blog Picks Seven Top HEPA 13 Air Purifiers

The following air purifiers were selected with one criteria being the ability remove coronavirus.

 

The top rated purifier was Medify

1. Medify MA-40 Air Purifier

According to the blog “If you are searching for the best H13 HEPA air purifier with a modern design, this purifier is for you”. The air purifier has a box design with a tempered glass touch control panel at the top. The tempered glass panel is easy to clean and will not scratch like cheap plastic panels. This panel also provides access to the air purifier controls.

They include sleep mode, 3 fan speed setting, timer function, night mode, and child lock. The unit is compact with a sleek build that measures 22 inches high by 9.9 inches wide by 10.9 inches deep. As such, you can move it anywhere in the house, and it won’t be an eyesore.

Also, it comes in white and black to match any aesthetics.

Apart from the touch control panel, what they liked about the air purifier is the four-stage filtration system that includes an H13 HEPA filter. The first filter is the pre-filter, and it traps fibers, hair, pet dander, and other large particles.

The second filter is the H13 HEPA filter. This medical-grade filter does wonders. Unlike an ordinary HEPA filter, it helps to remove 99.97% of particles 0.1 microns in size. These particles include dust mites, pollen, mold spores, fungi, airborne bacteria, and others.

After the H13 filter, you have the activated carbon filter. Made of carbon pellets, the filter traps household odors, smoke, and formaldehyde. Last, we have the optional anion generator. It produces negative ions which help to clean and freshen the air.

Maximum Airflow: 214 CFM
Room Size: Up to 800 sq. ft. with 2 air changes per hour

Find out the air changes per hour on your room with our ACH Calculator

Pros & Cons:

Pros

·         Has a modern design

·         Two variants to match any aesthetics

·         Compact with a quality build

·         Can clean 800 square feet every 30 minutes

·         It’s a powerful odor remover

Cons

·         A bit louder

·         Lack of an air quality sensor

The website has details on the other H 13 HEPA air purifiers.

https://reviewsofairpurifiers.com/blog/

Modine Teaming with Global Plasma Solutions on Ionization Technology

Modine Manufacturing Company, a leader in technology in the HVAC industry, has announced a state-of-the-art technology upgrade for the company's major school projects that ensures high-quality indoor air quality (IAQ) for students returning to in-person classes following pandemic-related closures.

Modine has partnered with Global Plasma Solutions® to deploy a patented, auto-cleaning, needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI™) technology that combats airborne pathogens and particulates to provide a safer and healthier classroom environment. 

"Indoor air quality is a critical subject as schools reopen this fall and students return to their classrooms," said Kimberly Raduenz, Marketing Communications Manager for Modine. "Modine is committed to providing the best commercial HVAC solutions, and with this technology we're offering educational facilities managers a crucial tool in the ongoing effort to keep students safe."

With multiple mounting options and carbon fiber and composite construction, the NPBI ™ technology offers durability, energy savings, reduced pressure loss, odor control, and particle reduction and smoke control. The NPBI™ technology solution can currently be installed in existing top-of-the-line Modine school products, including the Airedale ClassMate® DX Cooling and Heat Pump, the Airedale SchoolMate® Water/Ground Source Heat Pump, the Airedale Sentinel® Vertical Unit Ventilator and Horizontal and Vertical Unit Ventilators. A factory installed option will be available soon.

Modine, with fiscal 2019 revenues of $2.2 billion, specializes in thermal management systems and components, bringing highly engineered heating and cooling components, original equipment products, and systems to diversified global markets through its three complementary segments: Vehicular Thermal Solutions (VTS); Commercial & Industrial Solutions (CIS); and Building HVAC Systems (Building HVAC). Modine is a global company headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin (USA), with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Benchmark Shield, to Produce Up to 10 Million Disposable ASTM-Rated Surgical Masks Per Month

Benchmark Shield, a new Columbus startup, is gearing up to produce up to 10 million disposable ASTM-rated surgical masks per month, under the brand name EasyShield™. The masks will provide a local supply for distributors seeking to keep up with demand from hospitals and healthcare providers, manufacturers, retailers and others seeking to protect workers, customers and guests during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benchmark Shield is a spinoff of Benchmark Industrial Inc., a supplier of safety, packaging and warehouse essentials headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. They offer a broad selection of products, including the Shield™ line of hygiene, sanitizing and safety supplies, with same-day delivery in the Central Ohio area. They decided to create the new company to directly manufacture medical masks in order to meet the growing demand.

Jim Reid, the President of both Benchmark Industrial and Benchmark Shield, said, "Right now, having a domestic supply of PPE for people on the front lines is critical. Surgical masks, especially ASTM-rated masks, have been difficult to procure in the high quantities that will be needed to effectively fight the pandemic. Manufacturing the masks here using U.S.-sourced materials will ensure that we are able to provide a consistent supply of high-quality ASTM-rated masks for the people who need them most."

Benchmark Shield will begin manufacturing masks in their new Columbus manufacturing facility in July. Sister companies in New York and Texas will provide additional manufacturing capacity, which will allow them to ramp up production to 12-15 million masks per month. Benchmark Shield is in the process of selling production capacity and taking preorders now from distributors seeking bulk purchases of ASTM Level 1 and Level 2 medical masks. Masks will also be available in consumer quantities through Benchmark Industrial.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health organizations have recommended that face masks be used by all people in public areas during the pandemic. Masks help to prevent the spread of respiratory particles that can carry the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the spread of COVID-19. Some studies have shown that wearing face masks can reduce the transmission rate for the virus by as much as 75%.


Face Shields are very Likely Aerosol Generators

We have been analyzing the potential for inefficient masks and filters to become aerosol generators.  Face shields create the same conditions

Plastic shields that doctors treating Covid-19 patients often wear as part of their personal protective equipment are now being used by others in shops, beauty salons and bars. Some choirs have also started practicing with them too. Many people have chosen them as an alternative to fabric face masks when they venture out of their homes during the pandemic.

There are countless videos online demonstrating how to fashion home-made versions from clear binder covers, empty fizzy drinks bottles or left-over plastic packaging. Major companies including Apple, Nike, Babcock, and Ford, have used their production lines to manufacture face shields, while sports brand Oakley has designed face shields for NFL players to wear on their helmets. 

In some countries, including the UK, governments have issued official advice that visors be worn by staff who work in close contact with members of the public, such as hairdressers, barbers, beauticians, tattoo artists and studio photographers. People who are testifying in court, giving lectures or performing in public are also recommended to wear face shields by some US states. Similar advice is offered by the government in Singapore while some states in Australia say face shields can be worn instead of face masks in public.

High-speed cameras set up by Matthais Echternach, head of phoniatrics and paediatric audiology at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, and Stefan Kniesburges, a fluid mechanics expert at the University Hospital Erlangen. were used to find out how far singers on stage or in choruses may need to keep from each other and their audience to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. Thte tested face shields and found them ineffective.

These are certainly great at stopping larger droplets of spit leaving the mouth of the wearer – Echternach and his team’s experiments showed they quickly become speckled with moisture. Similarly they also help to protect the spit of others hitting the wearer’s face.

Where things get difficult is with what happens to the aerosols when wearing a plastic shield.

“Nearly all of the aerosols were coming around the side of the face shield and reached nearly the same distances as without wearing anything,” says Echternach. These results are still to be published, but Echternach says they should serve as a warning for anyone relying on face shields alone to keep them safe as pandemic lockdowns are eased.

“They are certainly not effective when you are in close contact with someone,” he says.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appears to agree with him – it does not recommend face shields for normal everyday activities or as a substitute for masks. The Swiss health authorities have also warned against using face visors instead of masks after an investigation into an outbreak of Covid-19 at a hotel in the canton of Graubünden revealed all those who were infected had been wearing plastic face shields, while those who avoided infection were in masks.

Advantages of More Efficient Filters Depend on Virus Load

In the last two Alerts we compared the value of various Coronavirus prevention options. They included masks and filters of various efficiencies and assumed a general virus load similar to what could be expected with a 5% positivity rate in a ratio of people to space similar to a grocery or clothing store.

The formula used was Value x effectiveness x applicability (load) minus economic and life quality costs = net value.  However assuming that the virus load is only half as much  the net value of the more expensive filters is greatly reduced.

Product	Effect- iveness	High Load	50% Load	25% Load	Econ Cost	Life Qual Cost	Net High	Net 50%	Net 25%
H13	99	80	40	20	16	0	63	23	4
MERV 16 +	90	80	40	20	15	0	57	17	3
MERV 13 +	60	80	40	20	12	0	36	12	0
MERV 8+	40	80	40	20	8	0	24	8	0
Net H 13-MERV 8  Differential							39	15	4

At the high level the net difference between an H 13 and a MERV 8 is 39 versus only 15 for 50% load case and 4 for a 25% load.

The cost of COVID is so high compared to the cost of increasing filter efficiency that even at a 25% virus load factor there still is an advantage for the H 13 filter. This value is increased further by the addition of the air pollution control benefits


COVID Death Toll in Asia Now Exceeds 100,000

Asia has registered more than 100,000 deaths linked to the new coronavirus since it first emerged in December, according to an AFP tally based on official sources at 0800 GMT on Thursday.

A total of 100,667 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus in the region out of 5,420,803 officially declared cases, with 4,255,760 people considered to have recovered.

In terms of fatalities, India is the most affected country with nearly three-quarters of the total deaths in the region – 67,376 deaths from 3,853,406 cases.

It is followed by Indonesia with 7,616 deaths from 180,646 cases and Pakistan, with 6,328 deaths and 297,014 cases.

Nearly 90,000 infections and 1,200 fatalities have been reported on average every day for the past week. 

This represents an 11% increase in the number of cases and a 6% rise in the number of deaths over the previous week.

The region also had the most cases in one week at 618,000 and the second-highest number of deaths at 8,600, a figure topped only by Latin America, which still records more than 16,000 deaths weekly.

As well as being the worst-hit country in Asia, India has also reported the biggest surge in the world in a week, with more than half a million new cases – up 15% in seven days – and more than 6,800 new deaths, up 5%.

In terms of deaths, Asia is the fourth most affected region in the world, behind Latin America and the Caribbean (282,979 deaths, 7,514,473 cases), Europe (216,596 deaths, 4,049,902 cases), the United States and Canada (194,915 deaths, 6,244,459 cases).